Vermont Controlled Substance Abuse, Diversion, Storage, Disposal, Monitoring, and Legal Issues

Opioid abuse is a significant problem in the United States. Over one-quarter of United States citizens suffer from chronic pain. It is among the most common complaints in outpatient clinics and emergency departments. The failure to manage chronic pain, as well as the possible complication of opioid dependence related to treatment, can result in significant morbidity and mortality. One in 5 patient complaints in an outpatient clinic is related to pain, with over half of all patients seeing their primary care provider for 1 pain complaint or another. It is paramount that providers have a firm grasp on the management of patients with chronic pain. The United States spends well over 100 billion dollars annually on healthcare costs related to pain management and opioid dependence. Pain-related expenses exceed the costs of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease combined. How a patient's chronic pain gets managed can have profound and long-lasting effects on a patient's quality of life. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines chronic pain as any pain lasting longer than 3 months. There are multiple sources of chronic pain. Combination therapy for pain includes both pharmacological therapies and nonpharmacological treatment options. There is a more significant reduction in pain with combination therapy compared to a single treatment alone. Escalation of pharmacological therapy is done using a stepwise approach. Comorbid depression and anxiety are widespread in patients with chronic pain. Patients with chronic pain are also at increased risk for suicide. Chronic pain can impact every facet of a patient's life. Thus, learning to diagnose and appropriately manage patients experiencing chronic pain is critical. Unfortunately, studies have revealed an inherent lack of education regarding pain management in most medical schools and training programs. The Association of American Medical Colleges recognized the problem and has encouraged schools to commit to opioid-related education and training by incorporating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain into the medical school curriculum. Appropriate opioid prescribing includes prescribing sufficient opioid medication through regular assessment, treatment planning, and monitoring to provide effective pain control while avoiding addiction, abuse, overdose, diversion, and misuse. To be successful, clinicians must understand appropriate opioid prescribing, assessment, the potential for abuse and addiction, and potential psychological problems. Inappropriate opioid prescribing typically involves not prescribing, underprescribing, overprescribing, or continuing to prescribe opioids when they are no longer effective. The American Society of Addiction Medicine describes addiction as a treatable chronic disease that involves environmental pressures, genetics, an individual's life experiences, and interactions among brain circuits.Individuals who become addicted to opioids or other medications often engage in behaviors that become compulsive and result in dangerous consequences. The American Society of Addiction Medicines notes that while the following should not be used as diagnostic criteria due to variability among addicted individuals, they identify 5 characteristics of addiction: 1. Craving for drug or positive reward. 2. Dysfunctional emotional response. 3. Failure to recognize significant problems affecting behavior and relationships. 4. Inability to consistently abstain. 5. Impairment in control of behavior. Unfortunately, most health providers' understanding of addiction is often confusing, inaccurate, and inconsistent due to the broad range of perspectives of those dealing with patients suffering from addiction. While a knowledge gap exists among healthcare providers, it is equally prevalent in politicians writing laws and law enforcement attempting to enforce them. Payers are responsible for the expenses associated with evaluating and treating addiction. Persistent lack of education and the use of obsolete terminology continue to contribute to a societal lack of understanding for effectively dealing with the challenges of addiction. In the past, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defined "addiction," "substance abuse," and "substance dependence" separately. The result was provider confusion contributed to the under-treatment of pain. Over time, the manual has eliminated these terms and now uses "substance use disorder," ranging from mild to severe. Unfortunately, numerous pain management challenges exist, such as underprescribing and overprescribing opioids. The concerns are particularly prominent in patients with chronic pain and have resulted in patients suffering from inadequately treated pain. At the same time, there has been a development of concomitant opioid abuse, addiction, diversion, and overdose. As a result, providers are often negatively influenced and fail to deliver appropriate, effective, and safe opioids to patients with chronic pain. Providers have, in the past, been poorly trained and ill-informed in their opioid prescribing. To make the challenges even worse, chronic pain patients often develop opioid tolerance and significant psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems, including anxiety and depression related to under or overprescribing opioids.  Clinicians who prescribe opioids face challenges that involve medical negligence in either failure to provide adequate pain control or risk of licensure or even criminal charges if it is perceived they are engaged in drug diversion or misuse. All providers that prescribe opioids need additional education and training to provide the best patient outcomes and avoid the social and legal entanglements associated with over and underprescribing opioids. There are substantial knowledge gaps around appropriate and inappropriate opioid prescribing, including deficits in understanding current research, legislation, and appropriate prescribing practices. Providers often have knowledge deficits that include: Understanding of addiction. At-risk opioid addiction populations. Prescription vs. non-prescription opioid addiction. The belief that addiction and dependence on opioids are synonymous. The belief that opioid addiction is a psychological problem instead related to a chronic painful disease. With a long history of misunderstanding, poor society, provider education, and inconsistent laws, prescribing opioids has resulted in significant societal challenges that are only resolved with significant education and training.